LIVE INSTRUMENTALS 1969

By the end of 1968 singer Linda Hoyle had strained her voice and had to undergo an operation which meant the she was unable to sing or even talk for a month. But, there were still bills to pay so the other four members of Affinity decided to go it alone as an instrumental act until she could rejoin. They were booked into Ronnie Scott's and one night their session was taped and it nine tracks from this set that makes up the majority of this album. Four songs are taken from a radio session while the last number goes back to pre-Affinity days and 1965 and the US Jazz Trio.

None of the songs are originals but the band show that they can take a standard and adapt it with ease so at one moment they can be playing Miles Davis' "All Blues" then can go into "A Day In The Life" which actually works very well indeed as a jazz instrumental. While Mo Foster and Grant Serpell kept the rhythm section nailed it allowed guitarist Mike Jopp and organist Lynton Naiff to play melody or go off at a tangent as they desired. Given how powerful their arrangements are it is probably of little surprise to see that Lynton later worked as an arranger for bands as diverse as Gene, Gay Dad and Page/Plant!

After the first nine songs Ronnie Scott thanks the audience etc, then it is into the four songs recorded for an American Jazz FM station (three of the numbers are repeated) then finally into "On Green Dolphin Street" by the band that would become Affinity. Good sleeve notes and photos as well as powerful jazz make this an album that can be easily enjoyed.

Originally appeared in Feedback #72, Feb 03